Horse-detacher



(No Model.)

1 J. T. WALKER. HORSE DETAGHBR. No. 258,961. w I Patnted. June 6, 1882.

N, PETERS. PholwLllho riplnn Wmhinflm. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. JAM r. WALKER, OF FALMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS.

HORSE-DETACHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 258,961, dated June 6, 1882.

Application filed December 22, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. T. WALKER, of Fal-' mouth, of the county of Barnstable,of the State of Massachusetts, and a citizen of the Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safety Attachments for Thills of Wheel-Carriages; and I do hereby declare the same to be described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a top view, and Fig. 2 a front elevation, of the forward axle of a four-wheel carriage with my invention applied to it, its drawclips, and thills, the nature of my improvement being duly defined in the claims hereinafter presented. Fig. 3 is an edge view of the catchhook at, to be described. I The purpose of the safety attachment herein specified is to enable a person to readily detach the thills from the axle of the carriage in case of the horse becoming restless or unmanageable, or running away with the carriage, so as to endanger the driver or inmates thereof.

In the said drawings, A denotes the front axle, and B B its draw-clips, while 0 O are the rear portions of the thills extended into such 0 ips.

To a stud, D, projecting from the front side of the axle, there is fulcrumed a lever, E, having at the end of its longer arm a catch-hook, a, formed as shown in edge view in Fig. 3. This catch-hook is to co-operate with a spring-latch, b, fixed to the axle on its rear side. When the lever is down to its lowest position the hook latch. The hook serves as a stop to limit the downward movement of the longer arm of the lever, such being accomplished by the book resting on the axle. Thus this hook performs two functions-viz that of a stop and that of a catch-hook, as described. I

A spiral spring, F, arranged as shown, has one end fastened to the axle and the other to the shorter arm of the hooked lever'E. Fur.- thermore, there are jointed to the lever two bolts, G and H, they being connected to it at about equal distances from its fulcrum, with the latter between them, as represented. Each of these bolts extends through one of the drawclips and its thill, there being one bolt to each thill and its supporting draw-clips. On turn- (No model.)

ing the lever down until its hook may rest on the axle, the two bolts'will extend through the clips and thills, but on raising the lever into a vertical, or nearly vertical, position, or until an ear, 0, extending from it, may bring up against a suitable stop, d, on the axle, both bolts will be withdrawn from the thills, which will be free to fall out of the clips, the bolts extending into the clips in sufficient distances to preventsuch bolts from falling out of place therein. On the driver of the carriage placing his foot against the latch and pressing the latter out of engagement with the hook of the lever the spiral spring will quickly move the lever so as to withdraw the bolts from thethills. When in engagement with the draw-clips the thills will be supported bythe bolts, on which the thills will play while the animal drawing the carriage may be in motion.

From the above it will be seen how easy it will be'for a person in the carriage to effect detachment of its thills whenever such may be necessary for his safety. v

The latch may be of any other proper construction or form, and may have appliances by which it may be moved by the hand of the driver rather than by his foot.

Iam aware of the detachersdescribed in the United States Patents Nos. 12,911 and 168,227. They differ from mincin important particulars. In these patents the springs shown are for very difl'erent uses and purposes, and operate differently from the spring F, hereinbefore described, which, on the lever E being unlatched,

automatically moves it to cause it to withdraw the bolts. Furthermore, there is in the mechanism described in such patents nothing to answer as mechanical equivalents for the catchhook on and the latch b of my mechanism. By the arrangement of the lever E and its adaptation to the bolts it works in a vertical plane, and, therefore, in being moved to draw back the bolts it can move freely with the axle and cannot strike the horse or carriage-body.

I would further remark that I am also aware of the mechanism described in the United States Patent No. 32,558, such being for bolting acarriage-top in a raised position. It differs materially from my improved mechanism for detaching a horse from a carriage, as there is in the patented mechanism no axle or any lever applied thereto, and having a spring at taehed to it and the axle; nor is there anything to perform the functions of the catch-hook to extend from the lever across the axle and down its rear side.

What, therefore, I claim is as follows, viz:

1. In combination with the two bolts G and H, applied to the axle draw-clips, as described, and with the lever E, adapted as set forth, the catch-hook a, latch b, and spring F, the said lever being provided with the stopping-ear c, and all being arranged and applied to the axle substantially in manner and to operate as ex plained.

2. The lever E, pivoted to the front side of 15 

